🔵 Royal Blue: Twelve months ago, seven days that shaped the future
This week, last year, was a stark contrast to the present day as Everton fought to comply with PSR. Against the pressure, the Blues pulled off some important deals
Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Royal Blue newsletter. Every Wednesday I will provide in-depth insight into the major talking points - on and off the pitch - at Everton FC.
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A PSR battle Everton believe they won on and off the pitch
This time last year, Finch Farm was a hive of activity.
The belief was that it needed to be. Having just come through two points deductions for PSR breaches, there was desperation to avoid a third year of non-compliance and things were tight heading into the June 30 year-end.
The big difference at the time was that, with the rest of the Premier League stunned by the severity of the punishments handed to Everton (and, by then, Nottingham Forest) there were other worried clubs willing to co-operate.
The Blues were no longer simply a target to exploit - as Tottenham Hotspur had done two years earlier when taking advantage of the club’s need for a quick sale as they plundered Richarlison from Goodison Park. That might sound strange given he left for £60m, but Everton really wanted a further £20m for the Brazilian favourite.
The other major contrast to previous years was that Everton had expertise when dealing with the financial rules - even if that knowledge was gained the hard way.
In the flurry of activity that came in this week, 12 months ago, they found Aston Villa a useful ally. Villa, concerned themselves, have a good relationship behind-the-scenes with the Blues and then director of football Kevin Thelwell used it to engineer deals that were useful for both clubs, with Tim Iroegbunam heading to Merseyside and Lewis Dobbin going the other way. They were separate deals but shared a common ideology - to ease PSR worries.
Everton were pleased with the business at the time and remain so. Dobbin was an academy graduate who was pulled up to the first-team by Sean Dyche and had that wonderful moment at Goodison Park when he sealed the win over Chelsea the previous December (I loved speaking to him about that in this interview).
The sale of the best products to have risen through the ranks at Everton has been one of the many disappointing consequences of the PSR problems the club fell into and Dobbin was a popular figure.
But his departure, along with that of Ben Godfrey to Atalanta, allowed Everton to get over the PSR line for the first time in three years. That alone could have been enough for it to have been viewed positively.
Everton chiefs do think that, in Iroegbunam, they ended up with the better deal on the pitch as well, though.
Dobbin suffered as a result of Villa’s Champions League squad building and instead ended up in the Championship, where he spent the first half of the campaign on loan at West Brom and the second at Norwich.
Iroegbunam remains raw and his place in the Everton squad going forward remains to be seen. He could well end up on loan next year. But he did prove useful to Dyche at the start of the season and, after his recovery from a foot injury, had some important cameos - none more so than his flick-on to James Tarkowski that ended with the centre back smashing in the stoppage time equaliser against Liverpool in the final Goodison derby. He had a useful spell off the bench in the win at Fulham too.
A big step towards PSR compliance and an assist in a Merseyside derby - not a bad impact so far, though the hope, clearly, is that he can develop into a useful first-team player as well.
With so much to look forward to now, with new owners, stable finances, David Moyes back in charge and a squad rebuild heading into the stunning new stadium, it is easy to forget that the future is bright because of some of the tough work behind closed doors such as the transfer manoeuvring achieved this time last year.
💬 My favourite quote of the week
“I trained and played with him for a year and I think he’s got everything it takes to become one of the best in the league. Good left foot, physically strong, he’s fast.
“He reads the game really well, he’s got every attribute you need to be at the top. He’s a really cool kid as well, humble, hard-working. I am really excited for him and wish him the best because he deserves it.” - Amadou Onana on Jarrad Branthwaite
I mentioned above that Everton and Villa had a good relationship and, last summer, they followed the Dobbin/Iroegbunam switch with the £50m deal that took Amadou Onana from Goodison to Villa Park.
It was another important deal - and another that was positive for both parties. Villa picked up a real talent while Everton made a profit and secured a fee that, while perhaps lower than they would have liked, was big enough to allow them to achieve their main priority 12 months ago, which was to keep hold of Jarrad Branthwaite.
A year on, Onana has been speaking about the centre back and, when asked by The Inside Scoop whether he believed the 22-year-old had what it takes to rise to the very top of the game, he said: “For sure.” He then followed it up with those nice words.
⭐ From the archive
I couldn’t avoid posting this. Everton are hoping to bring current Fulham defender Kenny Tete to the club. His history with the Blues pre-dates his move to the Premier League. Remember that crazy brawl when Lyon came to Goodison in the Europa League back in 2017? Well, look closely and who do you see?
⚽ I sat next to Jack in the press box when Everton travelled to Craven Cottage last month. We had a chat about the player the Blues hope to make their second summer signing and you can check it out here
📰 Everton noticeboard
✍ Everton academy graduate Charlie Whitaker has agreed to join Tranmere Rovers on a two-year deal. The 21-year-old was part of a free-scoring Blues U21s in the first half of last season before leaving the club to join Notts County. He scored four goals in 21 matches in his first senior spell and I’m excited to see what he can do following a show of faith at Prenton Park
🧣 Everton’s Fans Forum held a vote for their chair and vice chair positions for the upcoming season this week. Congratulations to Barry Williams, who will lead the group and his vice chairs Sarah Twigg and David Wycherley
✈ And congratulations, also, to Everton fan channel ToffeeTV, which has signed a deal to collaborate with Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Thanks for reading. My name is Joe Thomas and I’m the Everton correspondent for the Liverpool Echo. I travel home and away to watch the Blues and speak to players, staff and, of course, David Moyes, on a regular basis. My ambition here is to give you a glimpse at life at the club that you can trust and value.
The Royal Blue newsletter is not a place for match reports and player ratings. It is a specially crafted effort to take you beyond the headlines and behind-the-scenes.
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